Intrusive Thoughts
by Well of Allsparks
Summary: Yami is selfish, arrogant, spiteful, and sadistic. The last thing he wants, however, is for his Hikaru to see him as the monster he thinks he is. In Yuugi's eyes, Yami is a good person who deserves that one thing that he wants most. Could be platonic or romantic, whichever you read it as. Yami POV, slight AU, season 0. Rating for language; Yami has a potty mouth.
1. Awake

***EDIT I realized only after the seventh chapter that some formatting from this chapter didn't carry over. I fixed that.**

I have a bit to say about this story, here at the beginning. First of all, my ideal iteration of Yami and Yuugi's relationship is intimate platonic. How I see them, they are soul mates in a literal sense; two halves of a soul and they might best be described as asexual partners. I write from this perspective, then. This means that as a reader, you can interpret what I write as a very close platonic relationship, as I do, or as a budding romantic relationship, which I really don't mind. Personally, I don't mind _actually_ shipping them together at all, that just isn't my favorite iteration of their relationship.

I love Yami from Season 0, but I also love concepts that don't exist in Season 0, so I sort of mashed the two together. Yami is... dark. That's what 'yami' means, after all. But he's also a generally good person. So that's what you can expect here. This story is from his perspective, so it is an incredibly subjective retelling of certain events. If you find some parts confusing in the way they're told, then that's just the way his brain works. It's all intentional. You're supposed to feel what he's feeling, even if you wouldn't agree were the story in the third person.

I say all of this because the above is sort of the purpose of this story. I wanted to write from a heavily biased perspective about a pretty grey-moral area. So, if you're the type to leave reviews, I'd be really appreciative of feedback on my grey-moral study here. This is big practice for my book.

Thank you! I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, but I do hope you like the story! It's written out entirely and I will be posting chapters about once a day, as I want to read some feedback and respond to it in the updates. I haven't' decided whether or not I'll put in an epilogue, so I think I'll decide that based upon the feedback I get throughout.

Enjoy!

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The darkness was so thick and eternal that even the memory of sensation left me. I couldn't remember what it was like to see, I couldn't even remember what seeing was. Touch, smell, sound… they were all concepts that skirted the edges of my mind, telling me that such things exist, but not that I'm even missing them. The power of language faded long, long ago. All I have left is the vague sense of consciousness riddled with nebulous concepts and ideas that I can't even express in thought. The only things I was sure of was that I was in the darkness, and that somewhere else, there was light. Whatever form of knowledge that took in my mind was incapable of elaborating any more on that. The only thing I felt was the desperate need to be free.

Then I felt something new. Not with my nonexistent eyes or with my nonexistent skin, but with the pull of the darkness itself. What used to feel as if it stretched on forever suddenly started to have space. Distance. Room. As time went on, I became aware of boundaries slowly being built around me in the darkness. These boundaries were… they weren't the darkness. They were something else, which my lack of memories stubbornly kept from me. They were important.

They rose slowly. All around me, creeping along from one direction. Compared to the eternity I'd spent in the darkness, these boundaries appeared very quickly. And yet, I spent so long there that time meant nothing to me. The only context of time I had was the inconsistent erection of these mysterious and powerful boundaries.

Then I became aware of other sensations. The more space was created in this darkness, around me, the more I felt the pull of consciousness. Suddenly I had a reason, a purpose. I thought about these boundaries. I inspected them, I felt them – they felt cold, which was interesting because I had no concept of warm – and I began to count them.

The darkness seems to be confined to these boundaries. This cold wall that had begun to encompass me alerted me to the idea that there was something beyond them. I peeked around the corner, through the spaces that were still empty and full of darkness. But all I saw was more nothingness. However, if I retracted to the inside of this clearly three dimensional boundary and moved close to the wall, I could sense things beyond it.

I have no ears, and yet I heard things. I heard soft noises, filtering through this wall. They were muffled, and I couldn't even tell if they were words or just meaningless noises. I had no real body, and yet I felt a gravitational pull toward one direction. I had no eyes, and yet I knew these boundaries glowed brightly in the darkness. I could see. I could hear. I could feel. Thousands of years alone without memories or convention drew the curiosity from me, and I even went to lick the walls. They tasted like metal.

After so long, even if I wanted to leave this slowly closing shape of walls I couldn't. The pull of it all kept me there. The walls weren't just a hallow shell around the darkness it entrapped, but it filled in from the inside too. It went straight through me, banishing the darkness and entrapping me. The eyes I didn't have began to see hazy images. I saw… stairs. Many, many stairs, but I still knew no up and down. The noises got more clear and distinct, the sensation of cold settled into my nonexistent bones, and when I reached out to touch the edge of theses boundaries, I felt warmth.

There's only one last window into the darkness. Beyond the walls, the darkness didn't exist. Out this window, it stretched on forever. Behind me, deep within this labyrinth of stairs and halls that were almost solid enough for me to walk in, there was a single room of darkness that felt like eternity. I ignored this room, I avoided it and pushed it to the back of my mind. Instead, I stared out this window with frustration; why does it not close?

I'm so close to escaping this hell. My thoughts are with me, I feel my heart and my lungs. I can breath, though not easily, and I can almost touch the world around me. I'm so close to being free, and yet whoever is putting this Puzzle together has stopped. By now, I am fully aware that there is a soul out there, on the other side of these walls. A soul that is almost always there, and whose voice I have begun to identify from all the others. This is the soul that is freeing me, and while I have no memory outside of the darkness, I knew this soul was important to me. However, for the first time, I felt negative emotions toward that soul. Why did they stop? Why do they not complete the Puzzle? Free me! Have they begun to realize I am in here, as I've realized they are out there, and they've decided against releasing me from this darkness?

I took my position close to the edge of this Puzzle. I closed my eyes to block out the hazy, blurry image of stairs and halls and walls. I listened. If I concentrated, I could identify words.

"They don't deserve this."

I exhaled slowly and deeply. This is the soul. This is the one I have grown attached to; the one that shines so brightly that I can feel it with every sense. I don't know who they're talking to and I don't know who they're talking about, and I didn't care.

"Are you volunteering for their punishment?"

The context and the meaning of the words evaded me, but the word punishment bothered me.

"If you'll stop hurting them."

I frowned. Hurting? This I knew – somehow – to be another sensation, and yet I have yet to feel it.

"Have it your way."

Something bothered me about what I was listening to, but I didn't understand it until moments after. Then, I knew what 'hurting' was. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach, then on my arm. My head hurt, and it spread. It didn't stop; it kept going. But I didn't get frightened; I got angry. I was feeling this pain, and yet as I took a deep breath and moved farther from the edges of the Puzzle, I realized I felt no pain. I could still feel the echo of it, with each new blow, but it became clear that the soul that carried this Puzzle was the one being attacked… and that made me angry.

Then, it stopped. My fury did not die down. I felt the need to do something, anything, and yet I was still removed from the world this other soul inhabited. I could do nothing.

The window into the darkness disappeared. It was filled in with the same cold metal the rest of the Puzzle was made of. This last piece felt different. With it, the hazy world around me became sharp and clear. My feet touched down on the ground. I felt my heart skip a beat – I had a heart! – and my muscles seize up. I no longer had to strain to hear the outside world, and I no longer had to squint to see the light of the other soul.

_Everything hurts._

I am pissed. Someone has dared to attack my light, and there will be hell to pay. A door had come into existence in front of me, at the very edge of the Puzzle, and I used it. I used it with every sense of my being, with so much energy and power that I only saw what lied beyond it for a split second. The next second, I could feel wind and pain, cold and stone.

I got up. I'm covered in bruises and blood. The clothing I wore was roughed up and dirty. A large person had their back to me and was walking away. Behind me, there were two other people, conscious and also roughed up. They were clearly not the target of my anger. I knew not who they were, and I didn't care. They were meaningless to me; the object of my fury was walking away without a scratch on him.

"Stop." I spoke out, hearing my voice for the first time. I felt energy coursing through my veins, my muscles poised to action.

The behemoth of a man stopped walking and looked over his shoulder to me. He raised his eyebrows and lifted his chin.

"Did you want more? Or perhaps you'd decided to give me the money?"

I didn't know what money was, nor did I care. However, I was fully aware that the energy and power in my limbs would not be enough to combat this offender, who dared to hurt what was mine. I thought quickly of a dozen ways I could return the favor, but ultimately none of them felt right. None of them felt plausible enough to insure the body I currently wore would not be more damaged.

I felt a weight around my neck and glanced down, seeing a golden Puzzle shaped like a pyramid there. I looked back up to the rotten creature. I accepted the knowledge of the world around me that came with the brain I now had control over to construct the perfect revenge plan.

I grinned. "You want the money? How about we play a game, then?"

"What are you talking about?" The inferior human demanded. I am too eager to cause him pain in the worst way. I didn't wait for small talk; I channeled the power of the Millennium Puzzle to initiate a shadow game.

We were tied by a single rope, very long, and between us was a lamp post. We hung from it on either end down the side of a cliff. The object of the game was to reach the top, where the money was. Each step upward would sent the other downward. The number of steps was dictated by whatever card the participant chose, as the cards were sutured to the wall we walked along, always one within reach.

He cheated and fell. The money disappeared, for it was fake. Revenge felt sweet, but now it was over, and I had the conscious thought to investigate life.

I have ten fingers and ten toes. Shoes, pants, a shirt and a jacket. I am short, and I am cold. It's dark, but not like my history. There are lights in the sky like dots. There's another light in the sky, large and round that provided quite a bit of light to see the buildings and streets around me. This is the real world, and the body I inhabit isn't mine. It's his. Yuugi's. I learned the name from the inferior human, and I immediately adopted it. It is not my name, and yet while I inhabit this body, it is the only one fitting.

Yuugi. Who are you? I know nothing more about you than that you had just been attacked and that for whatever reason, you thought it important to complete this Puzzle which hung around my neck now. I held it gently, feeling a deep connection with it. Its powers had come naturally to me. It is mine… but it isn't. It belongs to Yuugi… and Yuugi belongs to me.

Yuugi had a home, but I knew not where it was. So, I retracted back into the Puzzle, giving him control of his body again. Now, I was entirely aware of everything around me. This space inside the Puzzle which I now call home, and the space around my Hikaru which he calls home. I could sense him; I could feel his confusion upon waking up in a strange location, alone. When I'd forced my way out of the Puzzle to take control of his body, he'd been knocked out. Perhaps that's better, so he doesn't yet realize I am here. I would like to learn more about Yuugi, and the living world, before I approached him anyway. The fear that he would reject my presence, inhabiting his body and mind, should he learn of me was strong. I did not want that, so, I settled deep in his mind and waited. I stayed there and I observed.

I watched him walk home and I committed the location to memory. I felt his reluctance and fear as he likely ruminated over what had just taken place. I listened as he spoke with an elderly man, who had seemed concerned about his being out so late. This man he called 'Grandpa', and I filed the name and face away as someone who was not a threat.

He took the Puzzle off and went to bed. It laid on his desk, but the distance from him gave me an uncomfortable feeling. I left the Puzzle again but found him too distant to control. Instead, I appeared in the physical world as a ghostly apparition. I'm transparent, but I can move about this room with ease.

I inspected it all but found little interest. Of course, I ended up standing over the bed and looking down at the young human that had completed my Puzzle. He was fast asleep, eyes closed and with the blankets up to his chin. Still, I knew nothing of him, and yet, I felt a deep sense of attachment. He is light, he is my Hikaru. This boy is now under my protection, and I won't be having another incident like that just hours ago.

After watching him for over an hour, I retracted back into the Puzzle to explore it. There were hundreds of halls and doors, staircases that lead nowhere, and many paths that inverted gravity. Behind many doors were traps so dangerous that my spirit was nearly lost many times. But with my quick reflexes and sense of impending doom, I managed to stay safe. Eventually, I found the door from earlier. I sensed that I was at the edge of the Puzzle. This door is ancient and decaying, just as much as every other door here, and yet this one was somehow different.

I put an open palm against it. It felt neither like wood nor metal; it was stone. Memory of what I'd seen beyond it excited me, but something about the situation made me nervous. My heart beat heavily in my chest. Opening this door meant leaving the Puzzle, and yet I knew I wouldn't be entering the physical world. Not without doing it on purpose. The first time had been a coincidence; I had left the Puzzle in two senses of the word at the same time. But now, I had no reason to enter the physical world. Now, I want to see what else there was in here.

I cracked open the door. I could see an endless pathway, stretching far down a hallway that felt different from the ones behind me. It held a darkness that was familiar; one that terrified me. I opened the door farther and looked the other direction to see the exact same thing. But across from me, on the opposite stretch of wall… was nothing.

There had been a door there! Another door, but this one had hung open and had light pouring out from it! It had been too quick of a glance to see what was inside, but the sight of it had thrilled me, and now it's gone!

Frustration built inside of me and I slammed my own door shut. I screamed, stopping to let it echo meaninglessly back at me. I'm alone here. I am completely alone.

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I shouldn't have such long AN in future chapters. But, another fun little tidbit; this story is an amalgam of several other, shorter stories I've written. So, I haven't been neglecting the other stories I have published here just to write this. This is more just finishing three or four stories I already had, then filling in the blanks.

A question for you guys: What do you think of my take on Yami's time in a broken Puzzle? Have you imagined it differently?


	2. Growing Attachments

I know I said I would update about once a day, and that will still likely be true. However, I wanted to get a second chapter out. I follow my whims quite a bit, and this is where it's taken me to.

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

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I spent the night exploring the Puzzle. I only knew that morning had come when I sensed Yuugi's soul once more. It was also then that I realized that when he'd taken it off and left it on the desk, I hadn't been able to sense it any longer. With this renewed connection, I eagerly returned to the hallway outside of the Puzzle. Sure enough, the instant he'd picked it up, his door had returned to this hall.

Standing in the doorway to the Millennium Puzzle, I admired the open door across from me. A large, empty room extended behind me, shadowed and lonely, while a smaller and more filled room sat before my eyes. Light came from no source, but it was as bright as day. It was messy, and from here I couldn't tell what it all was, but I had the feeling they were toys.

An uneasy feeling settled into my stomach. This is my chance to finally figure out who my Hikaru is. But, do I dare enter another's soul room without permission? Do I need permission? He is the one who completed the Millennium Puzzle and thus invited me to exist here. He is the one who leaves his soul room's door wide open for anyone to wander in. Anyone? We are the only ones here. He out there, oblivious to my existence, and I here. Does this mean it's left open for _me_ to explore?

Does it matter? Since he began constructing this Puzzle, I have had a claim to him. He is my Hikaru, my host, and it isn't fitting at all for me not to know who he is. So, without wasting any more time deliberating, I pulled the door shut behind me and walked into Yuugi's soul room.

Yes, it is bright. This is the light I had sensed for so long, coming and going as he – I now realized – carried the Puzzle and left it behind. Yes, it is messy. I cannot identify most of what littered the floor and walls; it was all very foreign to me. Some of it I could discern the purpose of simply through investigation, others baffled me entirely. Nevertheless, I was entirely certain that the vast majority of it all was for entertainment. His soul is filled with games and toys. Some were complicated and held detail, others were simply piles of wooden, painted blocks. There is a messy bed in the corner, on top of which were dozens of soft creatures made of fabric. Some were very foreign to me, others were strikingly familiar. I picked up one that was roughly the size of my head, but was brown with two eyes and four green legs hanging down below it. This was one of the familiar ones, though the name escaped me.

I set it down and turned to look more about the room. There are pictures on the walls and setting on cabinets that were full of boxes that contained more games. I inspected these, easily understanding him. After about two hours of thoroughly inspecting his soul room, the building frustration and irritation became too much. I had to leave, storming out and back to the comfort of the Millennium Puzzle. Disappointment filled me, and I understood this boy.

He is light. He is so very, very light. He lives alone with his grandfather – the elderly man I had seen last night – but he has parents somewhere. I couldn't identify much about them through his room, but I could tell he had no friends. He thought he did. Pictures hung on his walls of the two boys I had seen laying on the ground, bruised and battered when I first took over his body. However, through the same pictures, it was blaringly obvious that these two boys did not view him as 'friends'. And yet Yuugi continues to fool himself – intentionally – that they have good will toward him? Through my inspections of these pictures, I had the sneaking suspicion that one of these boys in particular bullied my host too.

Speaking of which, what had taken place yesterday was not unusual. This boy is beaten by others far stronger than him quite often. And yet he hasn't learned to avoid such bullies? He is stupid, clearly. He is ignorant, weak, and pathetic. This is the host I've been given?

I didn't leave the Puzzle for several days. Exploring it was difficult and time-consuming. I felt no need to eat or sleep as my host did, so I simply explored and explored. I kept going, even as I began to grow bored of it. My existence almost ended many times, and yet I felt no fear. I began to learn the patterns and how to avoid the traps. It felt like the passages kept changing, and yet when I tried to map it, they remained stationary.

Eventually, I began to come to terms with the host I'd been stuck with. He is disappointing, to say at the least, but he is all I've got. He was the one who thought it worth it to put in the years of effort that it took to release me, whether he knows me or not, and so I wandered back to the edges of the Puzzle. I began watching him throughout the day.

He takes the Puzzle off every night and puts it back on in the morning. He goes to school early in the day, walking there and joining many others at the school where he sits in several rooms in desks and observes. This is a very boring time where I have little interest in watching him. However, it is here that he interacts with others the most. Between classes, he speaks with those two boys whose pictures hang on his walls and with a girl whose picture I had also found on the wall. Hers had been in better context, and so I trusted her a bit more. However, from my observations, it appears as if the two boys are now pretending to be his friend. I was wary of them, waiting and daring them to make a move on my host. And like the ignorant child he is, Yuugi trusted them wholeheartedly.

After school, sometimes he would linger to play games. I wasn't surprised at all; he adores them. Completely and utterly. Sometimes he would play with his three 'friends', sometimes with others who I didn't care about at all. One day that I sat and watched as a ghost, behind his vision so he wouldn't see me, they were playing a game from the cupboard that he called 'Battle Ship'. They were to keep their playing fields from being visible to one another, and yet Yuugi made no effort to ensure his side remained secret. His playing partner, who was the yellow-haired 'friend' whom I trusted the least, would constantly look to Yuugi's side through the reflection in the window, and my host was completely oblivious! Naturally, he lost. I was infuriated on his behalf. This was not the only incident, but rather one of many.

Other times after school, he would depart immediately. He walked home alone, to the game shop his grandfather ran. Sometimes he would help in working there, others he would do his homework, which I also found incredibly boring. Following this, he would either play games alone, watch movies, or spend time with his Grandfather. Then, he went to bed again, taking the Puzzle off and banishing me to my own soul room. Not that I cared much, I spent very little time in his.

This continued for a long while. That is, until his schedule shifted slightly and he went to eat out with his 'friends', excluding the girl. Or rather, the girl was working at the food place they went to. By this point, I gave a reluctant allowance for both of the boys. Thus far, outside of taking advantage of him in games and in time, they have not hurt my host.

I had even retracted back into the Puzzle; they were discussing things I didn't care about. But a sudden spike in fear from my host alerted me to a change in situation. I can feel his emotions, not as my own but as if feeling the heat or the cold. When I came back out, I saw that a villain, the scum of the human race, held the entire building at ransom. Beside him sat Yuugi's friend, the girl one, blindfolded and with a gun to her head. Yuugi was terrified, on the ground with his head covered. His fear only brought me bother. His life is threatened and someone he cares about is in danger. But, the situation would pass and this criminal would leave my host unharmed.

That is, until Yuugi was chosen to serve his food. My host, my Hikaru was suddenly under the gun, and my anger surfaced. He went along with it, he obeyed easily. He had no backbone to stand up for himself or these people he clearly cared about. Not that it mattered, I suppose; he is too weak to do anything anyway.

I took over again, ensuring I put him to sleep so he could not watch me as I watch him. He needn't know I am here yet; he'll only have a dark patch in his memory. I challenged the criminal to a game and I won. He set himself on fire, I drove him to the brink of insanity, and once the situation was safe again, I woke my Hikaru up and gave him his body back.

I listened as he expressed his memory loss with his friends.

I disliked this boy's weaknesses. He let people walk all over him; cheat, steal, and insult him. But he always smiled as if he had no idea. I began to doubt if this were true. Surely, he can't be entirely oblivious to how he is taken advantage of so often? And yet he never felt upset or anger over it. I had to. I felt anger on his behalf. I took revenge on his behalf. He frustrated me, and yet, I continued to protect him. Because he is mine. He is my Hikaru, and to think that any criminal or delinquent thought they had the right to take him from me was insulting.

It was their gym class, and they were racing. Three at a time, with the slowest of the three eliminated and replaced with another. Yuugi is not fit, but he was surprisingly fast. He was enjoying himself, racing against his brown-haired friend – I think his name to be Honda – and another classmate who does not hold the title of 'friend'. Yuugi was actually winning, until the irrelevant classmate caught up and tripped him, continuing to run onward and claiming the title of winner for that round.

Yuugi picked himself up out of the track debris. He had red marks on his knees and the heels of his hands and was now brushing the debris off his legs.

"What was that? You were in the lead, little buddy!" Honda demanded, panting and slapping my Hikaru's back with an open palm.

"It's alright, it was fun anyway." Was all he gave in answer.

"No way. You deserve to win that race; he tripped you, didn't he? You're not a clumsy kid, I don't see you falling over like that for no reason." Honda insisted, and I had to agree. That other child hadn't played fairly, hurting Yuugi and losing him the race. "Yuugi?"

The foul child deserved his feet put into stone, or perhaps simple injury to ensure he would not be capable of cheating in such a way again. I glared at him, celebrating with his friends, and I contemplated revenge once more.

"No. It's alright." Yuugi spoke up again, looking to Honda. "It isn't worth it. I really don't care about winning, you know? I'd rather have fun. If he wants to cheat, that's his loss. He'll figure out someday that it isn't the right thing to do; it's not worth it today though."

I frowned and stared at him. This is the most he's said on the subject, sharing his sentiments and showing he wasn't ignorant as to what had happened. He was looking toward the foul child with a small smile.

"Besides, look how happy he is. This is the first race he's won."

I took a step back, an uneasy feeling in my stomach. No, his sentiments are well thought out. They bother me, but they distract me too. I decided to abandon this physical world for the Puzzle. I wanted to explore it again. I've become very good at anticipating traps and tunnels. I can navigate it rather well now, so it serves as a good distraction.

Less than a week later, he attended his first Dual Monsters tournament since the Puzzle was completed. From his conversations, I got the impression that there hadn't been any during these winter months, but now his favorite arcade was starting them again. He attended with his yellow-haired friend – the one I don't much like whom goes by Jonouchi – with a deck of cards in each hand. He'd been teaching Jonouchi the game for some time now, and by this point, I've become rather fond of the game myself. I've paid attention and learned the rules, and once in the past, I took over his body to play. Of course, I ensured he went to sleep so the time of the duel had simply been a blank patch in his memory. Naturally, I'd won.

Now, however, these duels were on a much larger scale. They dueled each other, occasionally switching partners. It took half the day, and in the end, whoever with the most wins was crowned champion. I watched, refraining from playing any of the duels. At first, I had intended to commandeer a few of the duels, but halfway through the first round, all intentions left me. I found myself leaving the Puzzle to stand behind him, closer than I would normally get as I risked being seen, but his enthusiasm drew me in. Through our emotional link, I felt his raw passion. This is his favorite game. He's very good at it too. Most of his matches, he won. But when he lost, my disappointment was quickly drowned by his laughs and decrees of 'good game'. He really didn't care if he lost; he just enjoyed playing.

He is so light. He is so very, very light. He cares for people even as they take advantage of him. He sees the best in every situation, insisting that everyone had potential. He didn't care if he were hurt when it meant someone else felt better. He trusted his 'friends' unconditionally – whom I have begun to trust very conditionally – and was always eager to make more. He is innocent, he is light, but he isn't as ignorant as I had thought.

He is just as weak and pathetic as I'd first seen him, and yet, I couldn't find it in myself to hate him for it. It was… endearing. He is my Hikaru, and I was alright with being strong on his behalf.

* * *

Focus on specific scenes and dialogue isn't really Yami's interest right now, so that's now how the story goes. There will be more actual scenes later, as he gets more vested in the going-ons around Yuugi.

By the way, this story currently stands at 8 chapters, plus an unwritten epilogue depending on whether you guys think it really needs one. Endings are my weak point, and I'm really trying to fix that.


	3. A Role Playing Game

This chapter is sort of the season finale for Season 0. This chapter is the first one that's really focused on a specific scene and doesn't skim over things that Yami doesn't care about. But, I'm still not taking you through every step of the battle. If you haven't, I recommend watching Season 0. Particularly to really understand what's going on here.

I don't own YuGiOh.

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About seven months after he completed the Puzzle, my Hikaru found himself in a new and strange position. I'd taken over many times to protect him and his friends, but I didn't this time. Or rather, I hadn't meant to. I hadn't been paying any attention, actually; he had just been playing games with his friends, including a new one with an accent named 'Ryo'.

The first of his friends to fall was a girl they'd started hanging out with, named Miho. Her body fell, and her soul entered the playing piece. Immediately, I realized what was really happening; they are playing a Shadow Game. Which means Bakura has a Millennium Item too.

Next, Honda's soul was lost to the game, and soon after Jonouchi's. I was at a loss on what to do; this is a Shadow Game that I did not initiate. Things were suddenly happening too quickly for me to come up with a plan. I cannot fix this by initiating a Shadow Game on my own terms. I have to play by his rules, and I still have to win.

Then it was Yuugi's turn. I felt an overwhelming amount of protectiveness, reluctant to even allow him to participate in this Shadow Game himself. I have always been careful, and now? Now I will not let him get hurt. I cannot let him or his friends be lost to this game!

"Before that, Bakura, transfer my soul into my doll too." Yuugi demanded, and I felt his determination. But, it didn't matter. Why would you do that?! I can't possibly lose him!

"What did you say?" Bakura, too, was taken aback. "You want to become a doll?"

"I'd rather fight with everyone else, together on the field." He insisted, getting passionate about his decision once again. I have no idea what he's thinking, but, I can't let him be lost here. If he goes down there, to fight with his friends, I'll have to control his body here. I suppose I'd be taking over soon anyway.

"Me too! Turn me into a doll too." Anzu caught on, and their act of kinship was rather sickening. I don't honestly know what he hopes to accomplish like this, but my Hikaru _would_ rather remain with his friends than sitting over them like this.

Bakura seemed to deliberate, watching my Yuugi. Then, "Fine… as you wish. But without someone to throw the dice, your chances of winning dwindle significantly." He raised an arm to point all of his fingers first at Anzu, then at us.

I felt his spirit leave, and I expertly slipped into control of the body behind him. I resisted the urge to grab his spirit and hold it back, keeping it safe. No, we have to play this Shadow Game by his rules. Instinctively, the first thing I did once I was in control was to look down to the figures. Anzu's and Yuugi's were moving on their own now, joining the others. For the moment, he is still safe.

Bakura laughed, looking down at them. "Now all the players have been turned into dolls. The game is mine; the Master's victory!" But as he said this, he finally looked up to see that 'Yuugi' still sat up. He finally met my glare.

"Is that so?" I raised my eyebrows, more than confident in this game. The thought of losing my other half is too unbearable, so I knew that I would succeed. "Let's continue this game. I believe we left off with the half-elf, right?" I maintained eye contact, ensuring Bakura knew this isn't over. I rolled the dice without looking. He was thoroughly startled, clearly not anticipating this turn of events. I was satisfied with this, only then to see what I had rolled; a 3! One of the best roll of the game thus far! I looked back to Bakura with a smirk. "Hit."

Yuugi managed to cast a spell that allowed them all to escape. For the moment, they were safe.

"Because you are the last one here, you'll have to roll the dice for all of them." Bakura had finally composed himself. "Be careful, though. If their hit points reach zero, they die."

I had already figured this much, but it was not pleasant to hear. Already, my thoughts were churning, trying to figure the best way out of this. Looking down at them now, also, I realized that they would likely be able to see me here. Which means my Hikaru will know I am here.

Sure enough, now as they hid from the monster Zork, they were discussing the situation. "But if we're all down here, then who's rolling the dice?" Anzu smashed her fist into her palm, looking to the others.

Slowly, they all turned to look up my direction. I stared back down, seeing the startle on each of their faces. I looked to Yuugi last, my stomach shifting uncomfortably. I found I was actually nervous for his reaction. Fortunately, as he met my eyes, it wasn't bad. In fact, he didn't seem entirely surprised.

Yuugi spoke to the others, but still stared up at me. "For a long time now, I've had dark patches in my memory. I've suspected there was someone else with me, but he hasn't hurt me yet so I figured he was on our side. I guess I was right." He smiled up at me.

I gave a small smile back, supposing that his entire plan had banked on my existence, then. Perhaps he'd wanted me to take over and fight this battle for him?

I felt a strange warmth in my stomach. I knew it was mine because the instant his soul had been stolen from me, I stopped feeling his emotions.

"Well, if you trust him, I do." Jonouchi looked up to me and raised a fist. "You can do it, Other Yuugi!"

I nodded, deciding to speak to them directly. "You can rely on me."

"But every time Bakura rolls, he gets a critical hit." Yuugi objected, still looking up at me. "Is there any way we can win?"

He's talking to me, and he's putting his faith in me now, just as he had his friends in the past. Right now, he trusts me. I couldn't keep the grin off my face. "Of course, there is." I assured.

He nodded, taking my word, and turned away. Alright, this is perhaps the most important Shadow Game I've played to date.

My first act was to call Bakura out on his dice spinning technique, thereby calling a truce on such cheating techniques. This would even the playing field and raise our chances of winning significantly. With my Hikaru's faith in me, I had no doubt that we'd succeed.

They made it to the castle, and my Yuugi had managed to turn two monsters into their allies. I didn't know how Zork's abilities worked yet, so I had no chance of creating a plan yet. When they entered the castle, it was a guessing game on where to find Zork. Their attention was drawn to a suspicious tower, which they were drawn to investigate. Jonouchi was eager to get closer, but Yuugi was reluctant.

"The markings on it look suspicious." Yuugi insisted, pointing.

I narrowed my eyes, staring where he was. They do look suspicious. But… why? They remind me of something. They remind me of… exploring the Puzzle! It's a trap, where the top half will fall and crush them.

But it was too late; the top was already falling downward. I lurched forward. "Wait!"

"Ha." Bakura was relaxed and at ease, watching me. I raised my eyes to meet his; he isn't playing this game with them; he's playing it with me. "Your adventurers have fallen into an amateur trap. But don't worry, you'll have a chance to save them. I wouldn't want to win that easily."

Looking back to the tower, I saw that they were working together to hold the ceiling up. It was covered in spikes and if just one of them would fail, they'd all be crushed. My other half would be lost forever. I looked to Bakura quickly.

"You bastard. What do you expect me to do?"

"Roll, of course. Roll for the next player." He watched me closely. I inhaled sharply, staring him down to see what he could possibly be thinking. He raised his chin from his folded hands. "You have three turns, Dark Yuugi. Three chances to save your precious Hikaru and his friends."

Shock struck through me. How does he know of us? How does he know what we are when not even Yuugi realizes yet? He's created this Shadow Game… I wonder… does his Millennium Item hold another like me?

He wasn't finished. "To get out of this trap, you must create the center part of the column they found. That will support the ceiling. However, to do this you must roll a very specific number."

Deciding not to waste time, I rolled. A critical!

"Too bad." Bakura drained the satisfaction from my stomach. I looked from my struggling Hikaru and his friends to the dungeon master. "That was a good roll, but it wasn't what you needed. I'll give you a hint, even; you have to roll doubles."

I narrowed my eyes, thinking on this. The spiked ceiling got lower, putting more burden onto them. But I stayed calm. What is it?

"Not let me see the chances of Zork appearing." Bakura began to take his turn. "Oh, it's 30%, look at that." He looked up from his computer and raised his dice. I flinched. Zork appearing now would be the worst possible outcome! I regret to say my composure was slipping, for when the dice fell, Zork appeared. No luck at all!

He appeared right next to them. Panic began to settle in. I rolled, but didn't even get double digits. I only have one more chance… so long as Zork doesn't attack them now!

Bakura didn't roll a very low number, so the attack wasn't strong. But Zork still attacked the small doll pieces with fire. Anger started to bubble up again, intermingling with my panic. I can't possibly let this happen! How could I dare to let someone like this separate us? To take what is mine?

My turn again. I stared down at the puzzle, trying to figure it out. Instinct brought my hand to the Puzzle. Even though I cannot initiate a new Shadow Game, I had other tricks up my sleeve. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to focus. Alright. The pattern on the pedestal and on the part attached to the spiked ceiling they're holding up tells me what they need. Whatever the middle part is, it has to finish the puzzle to create numbers. Both the same number. The only options would be, then, 0, 3, 6, 8, and 9. Still, this is too many to know for sure.

I glanced up to Bakura, glaring at his smirk. When this is over, I know many things I could do to get revenge. But now, the most important thing is protecting Yuugi!

I rolled, and I got a 66. Unfortunately, this appeared to be the wrong number too. However, Miho used her ability to change it after Bakura revealed the answer; 99. They were safe… but not by my doing. I failed. I failed Yuugi, and I almost lost him. I _can't_ let that happen again.

The fight began. Through the power of the Puzzle, I gave each of them critical hits. But Zork was powerful and was barely affected. They were all running low on health, and now Anzu's character was tied with Zork's on turns. A roll of the dice would determine who went first. Bakura was confident, I knew he had a trick up his sleeve. He would use a different cheat to win… but he didn't. I rolled a critical, he rolled a 10. He acted genuinely shocked. Anzu healed the party, I watched Bakura carefully. What's going on with him?

Zork's attack came. Bakura raised one hand, preparing to drop the dice, when his other hand shot out to release a different set. I leaned forward, watching this play out. It's almost as if his body didn't want to obey him. As if he had to fight to control it. He paid me no mind, however, as he seemed shocked that he could roll such a high number. Zork's attack missed entirely.

"This damn left hand!" Bakura exclaimed in frustration. Now, I was sure. Like me, he had a Hikaru. Unlike me, however, protection of his Hikaru was not his main prerogative. The Ryo that Yuugi had befriended is still in there, and he's helping us.

Suddenly, Bakura stabbed himself on a spire, impaling his left hand. I gasped, horror striking through me. The thought, to intentionally harm my host! My Hikaru! My other half!

"You won't be hindering me now." Bakura scoffed, retracting his hand and covering the wound he'd inflicted on himself- no. On his Hikaru.

I only felt more anger. How dare he do such a thing! How dare he ever want to hurt his host! But, if his Hikaru is acting through his left hand, then perhaps Zork's weak spot is there too?

It was Yuugi's turn, and I had him attempt to convert Zork into an ally. I never expected it to work, but it did draw Ryo Bakura out. He, as a small doll piece, came out to join the party. My Yuugi and his friends rejoiced, and I think I just found his weak spot. With Ryo now on our team, we defeated Zork. It came close, of course, but Ryo was able to fight Dark Bakura's power to keep the others from dying. By the end, I had a respect for Ryo, and I certainly trusted him quicker than I had Jonouchi.

* * *

There are five chapters left, and I won't be going into any sort of depth on pretty much any other events in the canon. But you can assume that things follow roughly the same plot. This story is mostly about the small moments in between.

Thank you for reading, stay tuned for the next chapter!


	4. New Names

Here is the half-way chapter! Also one of my favorites, so I hope you like it.

I don't own YuGiOh

* * *

I had my Hikaru back, and nothing felt warmer. I willingly relinquished control when his soul returned. Instead of entering the Puzzle, however, I stood in his soul room and admired it. This is my Yuugi. He's back. My other half, my Hikaru. In the end, I hadn't failed; I'd saved him and his friends from Dark Bakura.

I sighed and sat on the bed in his soul room. That's another whole can of worms; Dark Bakura. I know nothing of myself, and yet I know that this young boy is my host. He is the one that chose to complete the Puzzle, and so he is the one that I have claimed. It seems that those two had a similar relationship with the cohabitation of a single body. However, Bakura's hitchhiker was malevolent spirit. He was willing to abuse his host to meet his ends. Would I ever be able to do that? I know the answer to that; I couldn't possibly do such a thing to my Yuugi. But what's the difference between us? What do we have in common? Why do we both act as uninvited hitchhikers to these children?

Perhaps, the difference between us is that I have only one thing and therefore I would never jeopardize it; my Hikaru. The only person or thing I can lay claim to in this world which I'm not a part of, and so it is valuable to me. Bakura, on the other hand, had felt entitled to more. I don't know what his goals had been, but the fact he had goals at all made him different from me. I have none. What had his goal been anyway? Was it something that I would be interested in, as we are the same, if only I knew what it was? Whatever he was after, was it something that could turn me, too, against what I care about most in this world?

"Hello?" A voice echoed through the soul room. I was on my feet instantly. If I listened, I can always hear what he's saying or what he's hearing, but at the moment I hadn't been listening. Instead, it was like he was talking directly to me. Well, now that he knows I exist, he likely is.

I took myself to the physical world. Instead of floating above him or standing behind where he couldn't see, I appeared directly in front of him with my arms crossed and my chin raised. This confrontation is a long time coming, and now is the time for first impressions. The underlying fear that he'd reject my presence, demand I leave his mind and body was there. And yet, I knew he wouldn't demand this. I've come to know him rather well in the past few months. Nevertheless, it's important I don't let my guard down now.

I stared down at him, as I am taller than he is. Compared to other students, I would put myself to be average or just slightly above average in height. He, however, is rather short. This created a rather satisfying position, where I could tower over him. I said nothing, waiting for him to speak. I'm ready for his reaction, whatever it is. While I would never dream of hurting him, I found myself wanting to intimidate him.

"Thank you, for helping us. Ah, for saving us." He spoke hesitantly to me. So odd, to have his eyes trained on me directly. I took note of the fact we were in his room alone. It's late evening, likely after dinner and he won't be expected anywhere until morning.

I didn't answer this either. By this point, I respect his friends and care for their wellbeing because if they were hurt, my other half would be sad. Selfish as I am, I didn't do it for them. When I had been scared, I'd been scared for Yuugi. When I'd been proud, it had been because Yuugi had done well.

He gave me a smile. "You've been here since I finished this." He mused, looking down at his Puzzle. He paused here, looking back up to me. I realized he was looking for confirmation, so I nodded once. "And you're probably behind all my missing memories. But, that's alright. It doesn't bother me, because I think… I think you're a good guy. You're here to help me, aren't you?"

I nodded again, not speaking now for a few reasons. Intimidation was first, of course. I don't know how exactly I want him to see me, but I don't want him to see me as weak. Second, then, was the fact I had nothing more to say. Finally, I am face-to-face with my Hikaru and whatever I say now is important. I had nothing important to say, nothing worthy of breaking the silence. I almost felt as if I said anything, he would turn on me in an instant.

"Can I ask… who are you?"

This struck me. I didn't let it show outward, of course, but it sent me reeling mentally. Never have I had a reason to refer to myself. For so long, I'd been all that existed except for the darkness. I had no need for language let alone a name to distinguish me from any other. Then, since finding myself here, I've still had no use for a name. I was still unique in my own, and still no one knew enough of me to need to speak of me at all. But now?

"What's your name?" My Hikaru encouraged, possibly thinking that I'd ignored him.

I inhaled, thinking quickly and searching my limited memory. All that was familiar and what wasn't, but nothing came to me. I narrowed my eyes and looked away, to the window, and back to him quickly. "I have none."

He gave me a brilliant smile. It was one that turned my stomach over and made me skeptic that it could be pointed to me. I stared, wide-eyed at his face as he accepted me. "We'll have to come up with one for you, then. How about… Yami?"

I felt a grin spread across my face, mirroring his. "I am Yami."

He laughed and visibly relaxed. This settled well with me and I accepted his giggling with pleasure. It was a sound that I liked. It was a sound that I then vowed to hear again. It was a sound that I quickly latched onto, claiming it as mine.

"Do you want to play a game?" He asked when finally he sobered. With very little hesitancy, I agreed. Nodding again, I shifted to face his closet, where I knew his games to be kept. He then went that direction to pull one out.

From then on, we talked. When I entered the physical world, I didn't hide. He would look over to me and grin, then continue whatever it was he was doing. The others caught on, but when they realized I was with them as a spirit, I made them far more uncomfortable. In fact, their reactions were more normal, I'd think. Yuugi was taking it all surprisingly well. He actually invited me to take over and play Duel Monsters after assisting from over his shoulder a few times. He had no problem whatsoever with me taking over, going as far as to encourage it so that his other friends could get to know me. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I had no interest in spending time with his other friends. However, the joy it brought him made me do it time and again. I found, there's near nothing more satisfying than eliciting his smile and laugh.

In addition, at night, I started to get tired. I suppose that my rest for however many hundreds of years had finally started to wear off, and I began to sleep at night. The only place I could do this comfortably was in my own soul room, deep within the Puzzle. It was the one room I would avoid, as it was the last remnants of the darkness that ensnared me for so long.

Saturday evening, only a few weeks after our first conversation, Yuugi had his friends over to play a board game. His grandfather was working in the shop while they set up in the living room. Yuugi sat beside Jonouchi on the couch. Honda and Anzu sat on the ground at other corners of their coffee table.

"I call the green piece." Jonouchi exclaimed as Anzu and Yuugi continued to set the board up and Honda read the rules. He was quick to grab the bag full of colored plastic cars, setting the green one at the starting line. "What color do you want, Honda?"

"Ah… give me the yellow one." He looked up briefly.

"I want blue." Anzu insisted, poking her finger at the bag.

"You get what I give you." Jonouchi joked, jerking the bag away and laughing. She rolled her eyes, but the blue car was put at the starting place with the yellow and green ones. "Yuug, what color do you want?"

My Hikaru looked up, struggling to get a bridge to lay flat because part of the board was warped. "Hm? Oh, I don't know. Yami, what color should we pick?" He passed the question off to me, not even looking back to me. He always seems to know when I'm out lately, even if I haven't said anything yet.

"Oh, is the Spirit playing?" Jonouchi wondered, taking on a familiar tone. I make the others uneasy, but I don't really care. They've gotten much more used to my being around than they had been, and they've even expressed genuine interest in my thoughts before, but I know they probably would prefer if it were only Yuugi playing here.

"He'll be around for some of the game, at least." He passed off, not even asking me. Not that he needed to; he's come to know me rather well too.

I leaned forward on the back of the sofa, on his other side opposite Jonouchi. I watched what he was doing with interest, choosing the first color that came to mind. "Purple."

"We'll be purple." Yuugi passed the decision on. "Ha! Got it." He exclaimed, throwing his arms up and leaning back in the couch. Anzu laughed at his reaction, causing my Aibou to laugh too. I grinned, watching him. Leaning back put him closer to me, and this gave me a better view of his smile. Just as usual, it pleased me.

"Purple it is, little buddy." Jonouchi put the last car down. "So how much do we start off with, hu?" He dropped the bag down and leaned over to look at the paper Honda was reading.

"Give me a minute, they don't exactly highlight that part." He insisted. I tuned them out then, looking back to Yuugi. He was looking up at me.

I leaned back, standing upright again. "Can I help you?"

He grinned. "You'll help me play, right?"

I relaxed and gave a soft smile, leaning on the back of the couch again. "Of course."

"You know, if someone were here who didn't know he existed, you'd look pretty crazy right now." Jonouchi mused, drawing both of our attention.

My Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well I don't usually talk with him like this at school. And maybe I don't care if I look crazy anyway."

I laughed. He glanced back at me, then back to Jonouchi as he scoffed. "Well that's a relief, 'cause you look insane already." He teased, reaching over to shove Yuugi playfully. That made him lean over under me. He was giggling again, fallen over on the arm of the couch. I grinned and reached down, but stopped short. My smile fell away as my hand hovered above his side. My muscles froze and whatever bickering Jonouchi and Anzu were doing right now escaped me. I stared down at my Hikaru, my hand just above his side, and I couldn't move. I already knew what would happen if I tried it, and… I didn't want that disappointment.

Yuugi's giggles had died down, but he didn't sit back up yet. Then, without warning, Jonouchi reached over and grabbed Yuugi by the shirt, just where my hand was above, to pull him back up.

"Come on, Yuug, we're getting ready to start. Do you want to go to college or not?" Jonouchi shifted the direction of conversation. I retracted my arm, which Yuugi had phased straight through, and looked over to his yellow-haired friend with dissatisfaction.

"Oh, ah, we'll go to college. Obviously." Yuugi insisted.

"Well I'm not going to. Starting off with debt is pointless." Honda insisted, finally putting down the rule book and reaching over to move his game piece.

Yuugi and I were the first to graduate, choosing the career of 'teacher', which meant that once all the others had a job, we'd pick another one for the perks. When we came to the marriage portion of the game, Jonouchi took the bag of small plastic people from Anzu and pulled out a small blue one, putting it into the purple car.

"There, now they've both got a piece."

"Jonouchi!" Yuugi objected, reaching out to grab at it. His cheeks were warmer colored than normal. I just watched with curiosity. "That's not funny."

"I don't know, I think it's only fair." Honda shrugged. "Two people with one car, they should both be in it. Right?"

"Come on." Yuugi insisted, reaching for the car again. He didn't provide an argument otherwise, though, and I didn't really see why he was throwing such a fit over it. I didn't particularly mind riding in the car with him. It's more like we are playing the game together, and it's certainly better than having my own car. Sort of like how we share a body, despite the fact it's entirely his. I'm just hitchhiking. Just like with the car, I suppose.

"It's just a game, Yuugi. You and the Spirit should totally be married." Jonouchi insisted, still holding it high with a smirk.

Yuugi's desperate attempt to get the car back faltered and he sighed, sitting back. "Fine, that's alright."

Honda and Anzu laughed as Jonouchi grinned widely, putting the car back down where it went. "Alright, now spin for your honeymoon."

Yuugi sighed and I laughed, shaking my head. Later in the game, we lost our job and had to pick a new one. Anzu held up the available jobs and Yuugi had me point. He then pointed to the same, random card I did so that the others could see.

She held it up and laughed, handing it over. "Tech support."

"Yuugi in tech support? We're all doomed." Honda joined in. I smiled, remembering the established fact that he isn't very good with technology. He's certainly better than I am, though.

Honda leaned high five my Hikaru. "I got your back. I'll be your on-call consultant."

My stomach shifted uneasily again as I watched them interact. This isn't the first time, of course, but it hasn't always bothered me. I tried to push it down and move on, enjoying the game with my other half and his friends.

In the end, Anzu won. We came in second, Jonouchi in third, and Honda retired with the least amount of money. Everyone would tease him about not going to college and he'd insist this didn't prove anything.

I retracted back into the Puzzle, deciding to wander the halls again. He has fun with his friends. They can interact properly, play together directly.

* * *

As I review them, these chapters seem so short to me. I'm used to writing chapters twice as long for my stories, but I had intentionally limited these to 2500 - 3000 words. This story just feels like a series of one-shots that happen to be in order. At least, to me. It may not seem like there's a whole lot of point to this right now, but I assure you, there is an overarching plot that will be far more apparent by the end. These scenes are all important, though.

Thank you for reading!


	5. Sick and In Bed

Now we're leaving Season 0, and there are more distinct scenes. The events of the anime are roughly the same, but this is intentionally vague on timelines. As I said, this is more the small moments in between. This chapter used to be an entirely independent story. I just tweaked it a bit and put it in here, to give plot and context to this story. So, the name of the chapter is the name of the original story this had once been. A few chapters are like that, but this is just the first.

I don't own YuGiOh.

* * *

Frustration built up in me. Earlier, my Hikaru had gone home early from school. He'd been coughing and sneezing; his grandfather put a hand to his forehead and said that it was warm. Not that I'd know, of course, because I couldn't touch him. He is a stubborn, stupid child because he refuses to go to bed and rest. Even I, with my limited knowledge of sickness, realized that this was important. Now, I've been wandering the labyrinth of the Puzzle for roughly an hour since last speaking with him. When last we spoke, he said he would go to bed. And yet? And yet he frustrates me; I can still see his soul room across the hall from me. He still wears the Puzzle!

I took myself out of the Puzzle and into the physical world, preparing to lecture my Hikaru. My words died in my throat, however, when I saw him fast asleep on top of the blankets. He still wore the Puzzle, but he was definitely knocked out.

I smiled and came closer, crouching beside the bed. Raising a hand up, I held it to his forehead. However, I couldn't feel anything; neither skin nor heat. Disappointment filled me, but I wasn't surprised. I hadn't expected to feel his forehead anyway, but how sorely I wished that I could. Nevertheless, he shouldn't sleep like this. The light is still on and he isn't under any blankets. Rather than waking him up, I carefully slid into control.

Immediately I felt the effects of being sick. It felt terrible, and it just made me more protective of him. I wished that I could fight this off for him as I have so many villains. Nevertheless, I slipped out of the bed and went to turn the light off. Halfway back to the bed, the door behind me opened.

"Yuugi, what are you doing out of bed?" Grandpa's exasperated voice demanded as if he expected no different.

I turned to look at him. "He fell asleep with the light on. I didn't want to wake him up." I explained immediately, irrational reluctance spiking. I want to take care of him, and yet I cannot. His grandfather is here for that.

His grandfather didn't take long to realize what I meant. "Ah, I'm talking to the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, then."

I nodded, turning to face him properly. "Don't worry, he'll be getting plenty of rest."

He laughed without humor. "I know it. I get the feeling he'll be alright. I just came in for the bowl." He pointed past me and started walking in again. "Please make sure he gets back to bed soon."

I pulled back the blankets and sat down, but couldn't understand his words quite right. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean about what? Even if he's sleeping, his body isn't right now. It's the one that needs to heal." He rotated the bowl in his hands, giving me a curious look. He wasn't curious, but rather, the expression he had right now was curious to me.

"I meant before that."

He sighed and frowned. When he spoke up again, his voice was lower. "I never imagined the opportunity to speak with you without Yuugi being present, so I don't really want to let this slip by. But, I wanted to ask, what are your intentions with him? I can't say I'm completely comfortable with my grandson being possessed by an ancient spirit like this, and yet you spend an awful lot of energy keeping him safe. I thank you, but I still have to ask. What do you want with him?"

I thought a moment, to figure out what to say. I knew the answer easily, but it wasn't the answer he wants to hear. So, instead, I lied.

"I don't know. I owe him my life, my consciousness here, and I just want to help him."

He accepted this. I suppose it isn't a complete lie, but it is a stretch. I know exactly what answer he was looking for, but he wouldn't be pleased with the result. Nevertheless, he accepted this and turned to walk out.

"Goodnight." He shut the door behind him.

I raised a hand to my own forehead and laid down. "Goodnight." I committed the sensation to memory, reminding myself to repeat this when he is well so I can compare it. Once I had retracted back into the Puzzle, I went to find my soul room. I don't know if it would help, but I might get some sleep too. The more rest, the better I might think.

In the morning, Grandpa called into the school so Yuugi wouldn't have to attend. He still woke up early, though. Once Grandpa had left him with his handheld game system, some breakfast, and some medicine, Yuugi immediately got out of bed. I sighed in frustration, watching him attempt to sit at his desk to work on homework from within the Puzzle.

He is so weak and fragile. It's frustrating, and yet he cannot help it. He can barely keep his head up, and yet he's dumb enough to try and do work. I knew he shouldn't be up like this, and yet what could I do?

His grandfather came back in about an hour later to take the dishes from breakfast, only to see Yuugi sitting at his desk. With a great sigh of exasperation, he dragged my Hikaru back to the bed. "Get in there, I'll be right back." A few minutes later, he returned with a buzzer from some game sold downstairs in the shop. "Now, if I catch you out of bed again, I'm going to chain you to the bedpost." He pointed threateningly at my other half, which I couldn't find it in myself to argue. As if in response, My Aibou sneezed. "Get some rest. If you need anything, press the buzzer."

Yuugi groaned and slouched down, sneezing again. His grandfather shut the door, ignoring his grandson's antics. All was still for a moment, I assume at least. I wasn't actually out of the Puzzle at this point. I've just become very good at observing the world through his senses. At least, when he was paying attention or wasn't intentionally blocking me off.

I also knew the instant he was standing up again. This pulled me out of the Puzzle, standing in front of him with my arms crossed. "You need to stay in bed, Yuugi."

He groaned again, falling backward so he laid sideways in the bed, his legs hanging over the edge. Sprawling out like that so suddenly invoked another coughing fit that forced him to sit up and proper in bed. Once it passed, he turned back to me.

"But I'm bored! I just want to go get a puzzle. I can sit at the desk just as I can sit on the bed."

"But your grandfather wants you to stay in bed. He thinks that will make you get better sooner."

He gasped, turning toward me quickly. "What if you do it? You can go get me something to do, and come back, and then technically I never leave the bed?"

I scoffed, amused at his train of thought. Allowing me to take over for such a menial task; it's just like him. Of course, I had no problem with that part. "And it will still be your ailing body moving where it shouldn't."

He sighed and gave in, sticking his legs back under the blankets and lounging back. "It was worth a try." He gave me a grin.

I moved closer to sit on the bed; I can at least keep him company. Having him home all day, confined to his room does have its perks. This way, he'll spend the day with me. "Do you become sick like this often?"

He shrugged. "Every once in a while. Usually around this time of the year."

"How long does it last, then?"

"I don't know. Maybe only a day, maybe more than a week. Will you stay out here with me?"

"Of course." I kept myself from grinning. Of course, this pleased me, but I didn't want him to see how much. However, an idea that's been floating around my mind for some time now was just resurfacing, and I wondered it would be beneficial to the situation. "However, I have another idea."

"What is it?" He gave me an excited grin.

"I could keep you company in your soul room, where you could be more mobile."

Excitement flared in his emotions, a genuine smile spreading across his face. "You think I could go there?" He sat up quickly but got dizzy when he did so.

"I don't see why not." I shared his smile. My motivation, of course, was a bit more selfish in nature than I let on. Sure, he likely can get out of bed without consequence in his soul room, but there I would be in his physical presence. There, I could potentially be the one to take care of him, to touch him as everyone else can.

"That's a great idea, Yami! We can play games together there, so much easier. Come on." He encouraged, his excitement rather endearing.

"Lay down." I insisted, standing back up. "So that your body can rest."

He obeyed easily, preparing for the shifting. He'd never been in his own soul room – conscious – before. The process was rather similar; however, instead of taking over, I just pulled him out. And, instead of leaving him out as a ghost in the physical world as he is when I take over and he remains conscious, I pulled him into his soul room. This is where he went when I put him to sleep in the beginning, before he knew I existed. Now, I could feel his wonder as he explored the room.

It took me a moment to leave the Puzzle. When I did, I lingered in his doorway, watching him fall to his knees and investigate the toys that littered the floor. I felt hesitant. I'm never reluctant to enter his soul room, for I traverse it as if it were my own. It is as mine, after all, as he is. And yet, it almost felt rude to enter without his permission while he's right there.

He looked up to see me, grinning in greeting. I walked in, coming closer and clearing out a spot to sit on the ground. "What would you like to do, Aibou?"

However, he was standing back up and stretching his limbs. He even started jogging in place. "It feels so good to be free! I don't know, what do you want to play?" He only then went to sit with me.

I glanced about us, choosing the first thing my eyes fell on. How I've yearned for this moment, and yet, there is no particular game I wanted to play. More than anything, I wanted to reach over and embrace him. To feel that he was real and that I had the capability to touch him. But, I didn't. "How about the tops?"

"Sounds great. Here, there's a purple one over there." He pointed, crawling over just a few feet to reach under the bedside table.

Moments later, we were drawing the tops against each other in a large plastic arena. They span and knocked each other out of the ring. It was enjoyable and exciting; his red against my purple. After a few rounds, he began disassembling a blue one and red one to mix the parts together, creating an entirely different top.

Then, suddenly, he was caught up in a sneezing fit. After about twelve, they turned into coughs and he double over. I slid the top arena to the side, already deciding that we were done here, and moved closer to put a hand on his back. Unlike every other time I'd tried it, my hand actually touched his back. It was satisfying.

He finally gained control of himself and sat up. I refused to remove my hand yet. "Yuugi, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, let's keep playing." He insisted, sounding terrible and giving me a weak smile. I frowned at him, shaking my head.

"I don't think so, Aibou. I don't think you can avoid your sickness by avoiding your body."

"It's just psychological. You know, because I'm so used to feeling sluggish and gross." He insisted, not believing it himself.

I rolled my eyes and moved closer, sliding my hand across his back and under his arm so I could hoist him upward. "Come on." I pulled him to his feet.

"I'm fine, really!" He insisted, but didn't fight me. "Don't make me go back to bed and sit there by myself again." He actually sounded a little panicked.

"I'm not going anywhere, but you're going to stay in bed." I lead him in that direction. "We can still play games, but you aren't leaving the bed and you aren't straining yourself."

"You sound just like Grandpa." He wrinkled his nose, climbing into the bed. Contact was broken and I didn't like it.

"Your grandfather and I have something in common. Can you guess what?" I prompted, raising my eyebrows until he was settled in.

"Your stubbornness?"

"We both want you to get better." I shot down his playful answer and went to pick up the deck of cards from the table in the center of the room. It's identical to his deck in the living world. "Let's just duel a bit." We've dueled each other before. In the past, he'd propped the cards up for me to look at, then played them as I indicated without looking. Now, I can move my own cards.

"Alright, I guess."

Halfway through our duel, he was caught sneezing again. I could tell he felt terrible, blindly reaching to the bedside table for a tissue box. That's where it would be if we were in the living world. However, he didn't have a handle on how this one worked, so I produced one and handed it over. "Here."

"Thanks." He grunted, tossing the box behind him once he was finished with it. "Alright, was it my turn?" I knew then that he was definitely worse than he's letting on. So rarely does he lose focus and act spacy like this. "Sorry, was it yours? I lost track. I didn't mean to-"

I cut him off there. "No, no. It's your turn, but I don't know if you're up to this either."

"Yaaamiii." He groaned, drawing out my name and falling forward to face plant into the playing field. He was bent forward, over his crossed legs. Sitting with him like this, saying my name and speaking only with me, it's satisfying. "I'm fi-" He coughed, shaking the entire bed and keeping his face in the blankets. "I'm fine."

"Of course you are." I smiled lightly and leaned forward to pat his back carefully once more. "But perhaps a nap couldn't hurt? Your mind isn't working as quickly as it usually does, and you seem very distracted."

"Yeah, I'm distracted; I'm sick." He mumbled into the bed, rather than getting up. Which allowed me to continue resting my hand on his back. He let out a deep sigh after a moment.

"I want you to take a nap, and when you're better conscious, we'll play whatever game you want to. I promise, but I won't play anything with you until you rest." I bargained.

"I slept all night, I'll be fine until later." He was still laying face-first into the bed, though. He seemed rather relaxed, and through the link we shared, I could tell he was more comfortable like this than sitting up. "We can at least finish this match."

Making a quick decision, I retracted my hand and broke contact so that I could gather the cards. He reacted quickly, sitting upright and staring at me in alarm. "Don't g- oh." He relaxed upon realizing I wasn't leaving. I gave him a curious look as I leaned past to take his hand cards. He's awful clingy right now.

"I'm not going anywhere." I set both the decks on the bedside table and sat back on the edge of the bed. "Lay down."

He sighed but obeyed. He scooted over, as if to make more space for me where I sat. "I hope you know I'm not tired."

"And if you don't get plenty of rest, especially when you need it, won't it prolong your sickness?" I raised my eyebrows. Clearly, he hates bedrest.

He pursed his lips and rolled over, looking away from me. I watched him think, getting nervous. This is my chance to show I can take care of him. I cannot show waver or hesitance. I can't show how much it pleases me to have him here. To have him want me here too. Here, I can take care of him and show how capable I am. I can impress him, make him trust me and look up to me. I just need to get him to sleep so he'll feel better now.

He let out a sigh, finally, and he turned over. "Yeah, alright. I'll get some sleep, and you don't need to stay here and be bored while I'm just sleeping. You have better things to do."

As if I weren't going to stay anyway. "I'll stay with you until you get to sleep, and I'll be here when you wake." I assured him.

He made a face and rolled back over, pulling the blankets up to cover his shoulder. It seemed rather sudden, the silence, despite the fact this is what I'd asked for. Despite how vehemently as he fought it, I knew he was very tired. He would be sleeping soon, though I don't know how. I could never get rest in a room so bright. But, I suppose, it is his room and he is comfortable in it in its entirety.

The minutes rolled by, as he sought sleep I looked about the room. I already knew every corner and every toy. I knew this room better than I knew my own. I was proud to share it with him, proud with his pleased reaction. I felt as if I were showing off my own soul room to him and he was enjoying it. This was all false, however. This is his room, so of course he loved it. For the first time, I contemplated showing him my actual soul room.

I quickly dashed the thought away. There's no need to soil his mood or his view of me. My soul room is dark and dangerous, and I certainly didn't want to see his negative reaction to it. That room will stay my own.

* * *

If I had to give this a timeline, I'd say it's after they've been interacting directly for at least a month or two. This chapter was actually quite a bit longer than the others, but given it was a single scene, I didn't want to break it up. Also, I felt there was nothing that wasn't important which I could take out.

Thanks for reading!


	6. Game Night

Think of this chapter as the calm before the storm.

I don't own YuGiOh.

* * *

I came out into the physical world around the middle of the day. For the past month or so, our lives have been rather calm. Since we returned from that island, Yuugi's grandfather's soul saved, things have been quiet. We haven't spoken one-on-one much, and I intended to keep it that way. I made him nervous, and I didn't want to discuss it. Honestly, it's better if he's nervous about me. I almost killed Kaiba and lost his soul to the Shadow Realm.

Right now, he's sitting in class. I sat in the window farther from him, as I would have when I'd still been making an effort to hide my existence from him. Now, I just didn't want to speak with him. I don't regret anything I've done. I don't feel bad about it at all, and yet I know that he wishes I did. He wants me to be weak like him, letting these people take advantage of him. The only thing I couldn't move on from was the memory of our duel with Pegasus. When the Shadow Realm sapped his strength and I almost lost him. I'd almost failed him again, and this was unacceptable. He's too weak and pathetic to take care of himself, so I have to. If I can't? What chance does he have?

He laughed, drawing my attention again. I looked over to see he was talking with Anzu, pointing to the paper on her desk. She made a face, but then grinned and laughed with him. Their teacher called the class to attention and my Aibou put his face to the front of the room once more, inadvertently turning his back to me.

I frowned. He's survived this long without me.

At the end of the class, Jonouchi moved across the room toward my Hikaru. Tapping him on the shoulder, he addressed my other half with the nickname that annoyed me. "Yuug." Jonouchi initiated conversation easily and drew a grin from him. "Do you have time to help me out later? I honestly don't get this." He showed off his copy of the paper they all had.

"Ah... sure." Yuugi agreed, obviously not interested in such an activity but incapable of denying such a request.

"How about after school? I'll come by the game shop for a little bit. Maybe we can play a few rounds too." And there were his ulterior motives. I narrowed my eyes and pinned the yellow-haired boy with a look of irritation. Yuugi and I were going to play games tonight in his soul room. The idea of sharing was unsavory. Watching him enjoy time with his friends warms me, but we have been too distant lately.

"Sorry, I'm already doing something tonight. How about tomorrow, during lunch?" Yuugi denied, pleasing me by remembering our agreement. I nodded slightly.

"I guess. I mean, that's still before the test. Don't tell me you're going to the arcade with Anzu." Jonouchi objected, gesturing after the girl that was just leaving the room.

They started to walk out after her. I retracted back into the Puzzle but continued to listen. "No, not today. Just, other stuff." Stuff? Does he not want them to know? Is he ashamed of me?

"Come on, buddy. What's so important you'd pass up an opportunity to be clobbered by your closest friend?" Jonouchi was laughing and jesting, but it infuriated me.

You are not his closest friend.

"It's no big deal." Yuugi was quick to answer, sounding off. "I can hang out tomorrow night, how about that?" Clearly, he'd rather spend his time with his friends. I stopped listening then, starting down one of the paths of the Puzzle that would eventually lead me to my soul room. What am I doing, holding him to obligations he doesn't want? I have a claim to him, I want to be in his presence and draw his attention. I want to show him that I am confident and that I am capable. But, how much does it really matter? He has a life out there that I'm not a part of. That I have no interest in, that I don't belong in.

After he ate dinner, later in the evening, he bid his grandfather goodnight and ascended the stairs. By now, he is able to enter his soul room on his own, without my help, so he was rather quick to sit back on his bed and put his hands around the Puzzle. I was waiting for him just outside my door, leaning my back into the very edge of the Puzzle, standing in the space between our minds. I had navigated the Puzzle swiftly and easily, a true master of its passages.

He looked around his soul room for a minute, then looked through the door to me. That's when he gave me a grin, a smile that I always look for. But through our emotional link, I could tell he wasn't happy right now. I couldn't find it in myself to mirror the smile back. He'd rather be with his other friends.

"Hey, what are you doing out there?" He asked, coming nearer. "Did you just come out of your soul room? Or, the Puzzle?" He looked past me to the door.

I glanced back as I stood upright. "Yes. Some of the passages have shifted again, I think, and it took me longer to get out than normal."

"Oh, yeah?" He was clearly intimidated by what lied behind me. "Come on, what do you want to play? I thought maybe we could start off with Battle Ship?" He turned and lead the way back into his room.

I nodded silently, following him in. I didn't much care what we played today, to be honest. Only a few minutes later, we sat face to face with small plastic cases open between us. It didn't take much to forget my concerns from earlier after we'd begun playing. After hitting his second ship – with him already sinking two of mine – I realized he'd created a pattern. I laughed, and he tried not to, but he joined in quickly.

After a second game of Battle Ship, he jumped up eagerly to get something. I set our previous game aside in expectation to see what he'd decided on next. When he returned, he had a new game in his hands. He'd played it a few times with Honda and Anzu now, as Jonouchi had been sick the day they had, so it figures that such a game would show up here, now.

"Do you know how to play?" He asked, taking the board out and setting it out.

I nodded. "I believe so. I paid attention when Anzu taught you two."

"Good. Why don't you go first, then? Which character do you want to be?" He looked up to me, holding four small figurines in his hands.

I inspected them closely, deliberating. After only just a moment, I picked out the orange one. He dropped two of them down and picked out the red piece for himself. "Alright. Oh, I almost forgot." He set his piece down and looked into the box. Whatever he was looking for, however, he couldn't find. "Ah… I guess it really does use a spinner. Anzu brought dice, though. Let's pull some from another game." He looked about.

As he decided which was the closest source of dice, I inspected my figurine. It's the one he had used when he played the game in the physical world, after consulting with me on which one 'we' should use. He says 'we' a lot, quite often acting as if the two of us are a single person. In reality, I hadn't put forth any effort into playing this game previously.

"Let's take the ones from Monopoly." He decided, leaning forward past me to a box that was past me. He was crawling just past my left, and I couldn't help my eyes draw that direction. Before I could think better of it, my hand that didn't hold the game piece reached up and prodded him in the side.

He shrieked and fell over, away from my extended index finger. He was breathing heavier and his face was flushed, involuntary giggles dying in his throat. He stared at me with wide eyes and I realized rather immediately what just took place. A grin spread across my face, pointed and malicious. He shook his head.

"Yami, wait!"

I leaned forward and jabbed him in the sides with fingers from both hands, dropping the piece down. He constricted in and started laughing, pushing my arms away half-heartedly. He rolled about under me, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

I laughed with glee.

"Stop, stop, I give!" He cried out between his giggles. "Yami, please!"

Satisfied, I pulled my hands back to myself, leaning back on my heels. He remained laying on the ground, heaving for breath. He stayed like that for a minute, slowly recovering, and I started to get nervous. Had I possibly gone too far? I hadn't intended the assault initially, but his laughter had been so contagious.

"Are you alright, Aibou?" I asked, my own grin starting to fall.

He took a deep breath, then finally pushed himself back up. "I'm fine." His face was flushed though, and he was grinning. "That's not fair! Tickling is low."

"Is it?" I wondered, pleased to see he wasn't actually upset with me.

He gave me a curious look. "Ah, well, not everyone is ticklish, but I am. And, for those who are, it's a weakness." Another weakness, then? This made me think about it differently, the idea that someone would attempt an assault on him similar to what I'd just done, only with malicious intent. The thought didn't make me happy, but the knowledge that I now had a sure-fire way to manipulate him was satisfying. Even if I would be more conscious about it now.

"I'm sorry." I leaned over to take the Monopoly box. "I hadn't meant to make you vulnerable."

"Ah…" He didn't seem to have an answer, only raising a hand when I held out the dice. He returned to his spot on the other side of the board, and from the look on his face, he was deep in thought. I decided not to interrupt that. He worked silently to finish putting the cards out, but as he did this, I noticed he was still breathing heavier. "It's alright, Yami." He finally looked back up to me with a more serious face, but still smiling lightly. "It's only not okay when you're not very close to the person. And, you're my closest friend, so it's alright."

Pride swelled in me. "How does this game begin?"

After two more board games, we played a couple of rounds of War with normal playing cards. This one had been my suggestion; a simple game of chance between the two of us. Typically, these sorts of games are too easy for me. I believe it has to do with the Puzzle, as it sways random games into my favor. However, he wears it too. It's a truly thrilling game, not knowing who was going to win. Playing games of skill with him aren't quite the same, though. With some, he can hold his own quite well, but I typically win overwhelmingly. Occasionally, however, he's concocted a strategy that triumphs over me, and I always get a sense of pride to lose to him. He's the only one I've lost any game to, thus far.

We were building a house of cards, both laying on our stomachs when he suddenly became unresponsive. I put two more cards up, extending one side, but he had his chin propped on his palm and looked away from the house with a look of contemplation.

"Yuugi, what are you thinking?"

He flinched. I frowned. He tried to cover it up by smiling to me again, but I was rather confident he was wishing he was with his other friends now. I've drawn him away from them, distracted him for my own selfish reasons.

"We hang out here a lot, don't we?" He mused, and while I had to disagree with his chosen phrasing, I nodded. We commonly meet here to 'hang out'. "I remember inside there, in the Puzzle, from when Shadi had come in here. And, why don't we ever go there?"

I held silent for a moment, trying to compose myself. Quite often I am conflicted on that subject. I didn't want to take him into the dark and dangerous recesses of the Millennium Puzzle; I want to keep him free of it, innocent of it. And yet, I wanted to walk with him through the Puzzle, sharing my world as he always shares his. I had to choose my words carefully, now.

"Because the subject has never arisen. Would you like to go there?" I left it up to him, as I could reach no definitive judgment on my own.

He didn't answer at first, before sitting up and looking around. "I wonder what time it is? Hey, I'll be right back." He then disappeared, taking back over his body. I sat up once he was gone and waited patiently. This evening has been extraordinarily satisfying.

Before I had the chance to wonder if he was actually coming back, he did. Now, however, he was standing up and smiling at me again. "I've still got about an hour and a half before I want to get to bed. Would it be alright if we went to explore the Puzzle?"

I accepted his offered hand to get to my feet and nodded. "Very well. Stay with me, though; it's rather dangerous."

"I promise." He nodded promptly, following me out of the room.

As I opened the door and stepped aside to hold it open for him, I felt a bit of anxiety in my stomach. His reaction the last time he'd been here, the only other time, hadn't been the greatest. He'd come in while I'd been taunting an intruder who thought he had any right entering a person's soul room without permission. I had no empathy for such a person, and if it were to happen again, I'd likely handle it much the same way. And yet, I suppose that makes me a bit of a hypocrite, doesn't it? What right do I have to have such opinions when I constantly enter my Hikaru's soul room while he isn't there to give me permission?

"Are those staircases really upside down?" He drew my attention. I followed his gaze upward to, as his words suggested, a path where gravity had been reversed.

I nodded. "Come this way." I think he'll get a kick out of experiencing just that, and I know the nearest passage to achieve it.

For that last hour I had with him, I showed off my knowledge of the Puzzle. I let him explore, I lead him through unique passages, and any time he chose a door with a trap, I ensured he was not injured. Slowly, we were getting closer to my soul room and I got irrationally nervous. I don't want him going in there, though, I could easily pass it off as another trap should he pick that door at random.

Fortunately, he made the decision to return to his body and go to sleep before we got too close. It had been a rather successful venture, I think, and I look forward to bringing him back another time. I miss having his presence like this, and yet, I hope he doesn't get the interest in exploring without me; he could genuinely get hurt.

"Yami." A voice whispered, drawing my attention. I was halfway back to my soul room when I heard it. I waited a moment, wondering if I'd imagined it, but ultimately decided that he had called out for me. So, I left the Puzzle and entered the physical world.

It's dark in here. He's laying in bed with the light off, rolled on his side and staring out into the room, where I now stood. The instant I appeared here, his eyes focused on me.

"What is it?" I asked when he didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry we haven't talked much since Duelist Kingdom. I haven't really known what to say, but, you're important to me. You're my friend, and I don't want to lose that."

I was startled by his words, not expecting that at all. "It's alright. It was quite an ordeal, I understand."

He sighed. "Yeah. It was. I hope we can hang out like that more often again."

I gave him a reassuring smile, confident that this will take place. "Goodnight, Yuugi."

"Goodnight, mou hitori no boku." He whispered, and I retracted into the Puzzle again. His words pleased me, giving me a warm feeling in my stomach and a dumb grin as I completed my journey back to my soul room.

I have done well, collecting his approval. I made a good choice, not allowing him in here. I certainly don't want him to realize I'm not what he thinks I am. Whoever he thinks I am, it isn't really me. Quite honestly, I don't know who I am. My memories are lost, and unfortunately, I'm not convinced that whoever I am is a good person.

* * *

Only two chapters left! This isn't a long story, and the chapters are relatively short too. However, I think that's just how it fits best. I hope you're enjoying it so far. Thank you for reading!


	7. Think Again

***Edit, I added italicized lines here since formating didn't copy over for some reason**

Hey there! I got really busy and had to skip updating yesterday. I guess that'll make up for the day I put two chapters out. Anyway, this is the second to last chapter, and also the first chapter written. This is sort of the core of the story. It was an entirely independent story, a one-shot, that I wanted to expand into what is now an eight-chapter story. So, I hope you like it.

I don't own YuGiOh.

* * *

I shouldn't be here. Staying away for so long, I can see him interacting with the world as if I didn't exist. He's happy, he's peaceful, he doesn't need me. Clearly, I don't matter here. I'm fooling myself if I think I'm doing anything to protect him. Everything I do is selfish, and if I were gone, there'd be nothing to protect him from.

I wrinkled my nose as he hugged Anzu goodbye. He's doing just as well without me. I have no right to be here. What I should do is leave him alone more often.

He looked my direction as I moved closer. A frown was on his lips, which put an uneasy feeling into my stomach. I backed off, scoffing and disappearing into the Puzzle. He doesn't need me here. I'm only a hitchhiker here to invade his privacy and his life. He has nowhere to hide from me, short of taking the Puzzle off. But he'd never do that; he's too kind, too light; he'd never condemn me to the shadows where I belong. He would never do that to me out of compassion, while if I were in his position, I'd never condemn him to such a fate because I am selfish.

I do not deserve him. Whatever twist of fate brought me to him, and him to me, clearly has a sick sense of humor. How could I touch something so light? And yet, that's all I crave. I want what I couldn't possibly do… perhaps these fates aren't as terrible as I had thought. They present him to me, but they wouldn't actually chance my touching him; if I were to try, my hand would phase straight through. As it should be; I can only ever dampen his light. I can only drag him down, cause him pain and siphon his spirit.

I am a hitchhiker here, a parasite. I know it is compassion that keeps him patient toward me, and yet I think it must be cruel. He keeps me here, in his pocket, and I am but the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. How I want more, but I couldn't possibly…

It would be better if he just took the Puzzle off.

"Stop it!" A familiar voice echoed loudly through the labyrinth I was walking.

I stopped in my tracks, shock splitting through me and a chill sweeping over my skin. Is he in trouble? When I last left him, his friends were departing and he was going to go upstairs to study for his school. What trouble could he have possibly gotten into?

Out in the physical world, prepared to forcibly take over his body to defend him, I was shocked to find him alone in his room. He stood in the center, gripping the Puzzle tightly and glaring at it. I relaxed, regret and disgust with myself for being so ready to take advantage of him again filled my stomach. But as I realized that he was safe, I also realized that he'd still shouted. Who else could he be talking to, other than me?

"What's wrong, Yuugi?" I asked, deciding to use his name and not step where I do not belong. Yes, he is mine, but what right do I really have to call him Aibou? Or my Hikaru? No, in no eyes but the most tainted is he mine.

"Yami, stop it." He pleaded, not looking up at me. Now, when he spoke, I realized his voice was shaking and his eyes were wet. He was crying. I don't know what's going on, but now I felt even worse. Have I caused this?

"What would you like me to cease?" I asked, lowering my voice and trying my damnedest to understand.

He looked up at me, his caring at letting me see his tears dissipating. I felt it go as my own uneasiness filled me. "I'm not going to take the Puzzle off. I would never do that! And it isn't just because I don't want you to suffer. You don't deserve that, Mou Hitori no Boku. Stop saying things like that."

Had I been unintentionally speaking out loud? Within the depths of the Labyrinth, where I spent so many eons alone, I might have spoken without realizing it…

"You're not alone anymore. And you don't deserve to be alone either. I'm not going to take this Puzzle off."

Wait. No. No…. nononononnononno.

He flinched, looking down and eyes watering. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't want to tell you. I lied, and I didn't want to hurt you, but I already have. But I couldn't stand to let you put yourself down like that because you don't deserve it. Yami, you're my closest friend, my other half, and I don't want to imagine my life without you like that."

He can hear my thoughts. Immediately, I tracked such a connection in our mind and found it. My mind was entirely open to him, but he'd blocked his from me with an iron wall. Oh… no… He's heard it all. Everything.

He nodded.

"You should take it off." I lowered my voice and inhaled deeply. I towered over him, standing tall as he cowered downward.

He immediately looked back up to me with a glare. So rarely does he wear one of those. "No! I won't do it, please stop saying that!"

But there are no more secrets between us; perhaps, there never were. He knows exactly who I am, and that's why he's afraid of me. He should be afraid of me.

"I'm not afraid of you." He shook his head. I keep forgetting, despite the fact that his knowledge of my thoughts was the topic at hand.

"But I am not light like you are. I am selfish, and dark, and now I realize, you've seen it all along." No particular instance of disgrace came to memory at the moment, but I knew myself well enough to know I have hated those around him, sought destruction to his enemies, expressed jealousy to his friends, and disrespectful possessiveness toward him. I've fanaticized about spilling blood and daydreamed of ruining lives. "You should be afraid of me, Yuugi. You shouldn't trust me and you shouldn't allow me so near."

"I'm sorry I've been eavesdropping like this for so long." His voice was low and his face was lowered. He refused to look at me. "But I didn't want you to hear my thoughts, and I didn't want you to try to change who you were, or hate me for this. I understand if you did, and it was wrong of me, but now you know and you can block your thoughts all you want to. If you want me to take the Puzzle off because you're upset with me, because I broke your trust, I will. But I won't take it off because you think you're a burden. I'm not afraid of you. Yeah, you frighten me sometimes and I don't always agree with what you're thinking, but I could never hate you. I understand you. You were so alone, before, and now you're only interaction with the outside world is through me. I know it's frustrating, and I know I'm not the best host, but I'm the one you've got. I know I'm weak and pathetic, I don't have a backbone, and I'm not dumb, I know that those other kids cheat all the time, but I really care about you and I don't want you thinking all those things about yourself. Before you came along, I didn't have any friends at all. And now I've got Jonouchi, Anzu, and Honda, but you're still my closest friend. I'm clingy and pathetic, but I really don't want to lose you."

His speech sounded prepared, like he'd been thinking about it for a while. Any of the gut-reactions I had throughout that I couldn't voice because I didn't want to interrupt him had faded, and now I didn't know what to say. His words cut through me, silencing me, and I didn't really know how to respond. The things he said, they were because I've thought it. I used to call him weak and pathetic a lot, actually. When he first finished the Puzzle, before he knew I was here – or perhaps before I realized he know I was here – I hated him. And he was listening that entire time. As I realized this, I felt even more like shit.

He flinched. I remembered once more that he was listening. Shit. "Yuugi…"

"I know." He glanced up at me, just long enough to remind me of his wet eyes before looking down again. "You don't hate me anymore. Not like that at least, but I am still weak and pathetic. I still don't have a backbone; you're right about all of that."

Fucking damn it. "You're not." I practically groaned, my chest aching as everything caught up to me. "You've stood up to monsters and villains alike and you haven't bat an eye. You are powerful and courageous."

He laughed a bit, shaking his head. "That wasn't me. It never was me; that was always you. Bakura terrifies me, and without you here, I'd probably run and hide."

I don't believe it. "And if your friends were in danger, you'd lead the charge."

He didn't have an answer for this.

"You don't need to apologize for listening to my thoughts. Without you, they wouldn't be here. In fact, they belong to you." I decided that however this lands, I refuse to regret it. Do with them what you will. "If anything, I will apologize to you for having to listen to them…"

"I know you don't mean any of that." He denied immediately. "You're a really good liar, Yami. I know you're upset with me for not telling you."

I let out a breath, deciding that there was no point in denying it. Of course, I am. I'm upset he's silently been listening to every evil thought I've had and not said anything about it. That we've gone this long with him seeing how terrible I actually am, when I always wanted him to think better of me. I've wanted to impress him… he's heard all this too, hasn't he?

He nodded. "And you aren't as bad as you think you are. You have dark thoughts, but, you aren't evil. In your own way, you make sense. I can see how you see the world, and even though I don't agree, it does make sense. The world isn't yours, it owes you nothing and you owe it nothing. You haven't been a part of it for hundreds of years, and now, your only connection to it is me. But it hasn't been treating me very well, so your only solid experience with it, in all of your memory, is pretty dark. Yeah, it's kind of scary sometimes, but your mind isn't something I regret or shun. I can deal with your hostility and overprotectiveness, it's a part of who you are and that's important to me. But I can't deal with the most important person in my life genuinely thinking about ending theirs."

He's definitely crying again. My heart twisted and my gut hurt. Any chance I've ever had of impressing him or making him look up to me was long gone. No. Of all the thoughts I didn't want him to hear, perhaps those are it.

I was about to say something in a formal response, but he was already accepting my thoughts as conversation fuel. "And I understand that too."

My jaws locked and I finally looked away from him. For the first time in this conversation, I tried to block from him my thoughts. He flinched and let out a shaky breath. I looked back, drawn by the motion of him raising a hand from the Puzzle still in his grip to wipe his eyes.

"It hasn't scared me away yet either." His voice was softer now and he adjusted his grip on the Puzzle. He was rubbing over the eye emblem with his thumb. "I think I understand it too. I don't… exactly mind that either."

And why not? I'd be foolish to hope he wouldn't have heard me think it time and again, so there's no real point in pretending like I haven't. He is my Hikaru, my other, and I do not like sharing. I watch him through the day and I know that the small, light one is the one I can claim, and so I do. The attachment is impossible to avoid, and surely he's aware it isn't entirely unfounded. And yet he doesn't mind? As I know the boy, he would mind this most. He would hate me for acting or thinking in such a way, claiming him as my own and getting jealous when even Jonouchi touches him how I cannot.

"Why not?" I don't care if he hates me anymore. I don't care if he's terrified of me. I cannot block my thoughts as he can, and it wouldn't matter anyway. He already knows it all.

"Because I feel the same way." He wiped his eyes again. "I don't like sharing you, Yami. You're always here with me, close at hand, and your thoughts have always been there for me when I know no one would want to waste time with me. It's irrational, and I've become spoiled, but I've sort of started using you as a crutch. I know I'd feel deprived if you were to ever leave. I'd be devastated if you asked me to stop wearing the Puzzle."

I have my doubts on his sentiments, but clearly there is merit in them to an extent. No matter how used to me he has become, I doubt he is as attached to me as I am to him. It is unhealthy and he doesn't deserve it.

"Yuugi, it's getting late." I decided to end this conversation. Nothing beneficial could come of it and I was growing tired of trying to control my own emotions. "You should study so you can sleep."

For whatever reason, he began to panic. His heart rate rose and my eyes were instantly on his face. What is it? The instinct to do something hit me, but rationally thinking, I knew there was nothing to protect him from right now.

"Do you know why I blocked my thoughts?" He demanded, finally looking up at me.

I shook my head slowly. I could think of a lot of theories, but mostly they involved doubting his faith in me and his intentions. None of which I could practically contemplate; he is too light.

"Because I'm afraid you'd hate me. You were right... when you thought I was weak and pathetic. I don't have a backbone, I'm clingy, and I whine a lot. I'm sure I take it all for granted, having friends and such, and if you actually heard my thoughts, you'd hate me as much as you used to. I didn't want you to think lesser of me… but it isn't fair is it? You don't have to try so hard to impress me, Yami, because you already do. But I'm nothing like you."

"What…" He was clearly implying something, and if I was correct…

_I'm about to lose my closest friend because I was whiny, and I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I'm certain he- ah… you hate me. He probably doesn't even want to hear my thoughts. It would just be annoying to him, and I don't want to lose this._

"Yuugi." I blinked in surprise. It's his voice in my head, so distinctly his that it nearly hurt. My stomach flipped over, and my chest practically vibrated with each word.

"I'm really sorry, Yami." _Mou Hitori no Boku, my other half, I've been lying to him for so long. I should let him go. Give him space. He'll block his thoughts and I'll never hear them again. I've lost a gift I never should have had._

"No, no." I didn't know what I was denying, but I couldn't pay attention to that. His inner monologue resonated with the emotional connection I've already shared with him for so long. I can't only hear his thoughts, but I can practically feel them as my own. Before this, I had been skeptical and reluctant of his own doubts and fears, but now I can feel them as my own and his motivation became mine.

No. I need to stop doing that. Not mine. Nothing about him or his is mine.

_And his thoughts aren't mine. He doesn't want that, with someone like me. It's unnecessary. I should… I should just go to bed._

"Yuugi." I wasn't entirely sure what to say, despite how certain I was about my sentiments. I wanted to acknowledge how wrong I've been, how out of line and how much I should apologize, but I couldn't. Particularly as I could feel his emotions resonate with his internal monologue –_ I don't want him to change_ \- I found myself only satisfied. "If I make you uncomfortable..." I tried to find the right words, which were a decent compromise between the truth and what I wanted to be the truth, but his own thoughts distracted me - _you'd like it_ – reminding me that he knows me far better now than I had ever wanted.

"Sorry." He apologized quickly, flinching and looking away.

I decided not to address this. "If I make you uncomfortable, make me stop. I don't know if I could block my thoughts as well as you can yours." And I don't want him to hate me.

"I can't hate you." He shook his head, looking down at the Puzzle in his hands again. _I can't hate myself._

I tilted my head curiously, but didn't have the time to ask vocally or mentally what he meant before I understood. It was a rather immediate understanding, more of a dawning of realization that put both his thoughts and my own into perspective. He views me as a part of himself; a part he cannot control. The part he relies on for strength. I had never thought about it this way, and yet, I believe I view him the same way. He is the part of me that I cannot directly control, the part that keeps me grounded in the world of the living and keeps me trusting and light.

He started walking forward then, around me despite the fact I held no physical form. This distracted me from my line of thoughts, causing me to pivot to continue watching him as he went toward the bed to grab his pajamas._ I'm tired_. He felt tired, in more ways than one. I suppose our conversation is over. "I won't block my thoughts from you anymore." He said, avoiding eye contact as I watched him closely. "Not unless you get tired of hearing it and you want some mental silence. I can do that."

I left him alone then, figuring my thoughts were answer enough. He doesn't want me to change, and I'm not sure I could anyway. I want to be better, to be the person I've always wanted him to see me as, but I've never been that person. Instead, I found myself watching him closely through our bonded emotions and now through our connected thoughts.

_I know he's listening now, and he'll get tired of it eventually. I haven't changed as much as he thinks I have. I'm just as weak as I used to be, but I've made him think I wasn't. Now he'll see I've been lying to him just as well as he's lied to me. I do love how much he enjoys my soul room. His_ sudden change of thought subject made me realize that I, myself, had exited the Puzzle into the hall between our minds, and I had the intentions of entering his soul room.

I sighed and continued on, pushing past my own hesitation. I do love this room. It is mine, after all. I knew every corner, every toy, and every card in this room.

_He spends a lot of time in there._

I sat on the edge of the bed and attempted to act as if I didn't know he was listening to my every thought. It can't be helped, and it shouldn't matter. Nothing's changed, fundamentally. But now, I have to wonder how realistic my expectations and goals are. I don't think I can give up on them, but now I must figure out how to get what I want when he knows exactly what I want.

* * *

There it is. The first several chapters had seemed aimless without clear plot. Now, I hope you can see, they actually had a clear and decisive progression as Yami's own internal thoughts and view of the world around him - particularly of Yuugi - have progressed. A fun little tidbit; Yami did hear Yuugi's thoughts in the very beginning, but it had been so early that he hadn't realized it himself.

So now, every time something is italicized, that's Yuugi's thoughts. If it isn't italicized, just assume Yuugi can hear it too. If it gets confusing following a conversation where Yuugi's responding to Yami's thoughts, not just his words, well, it's confusing to Yami too. That's the point.

Thank you for reading!


	8. From Yours to Mine

Last chapter! Thank you for reading this story, and I hope this last chapter will feel like a finale, as I'm typically not great at those. Nevertheless, this is it. By the way, the name of this chapter was the original name of the whole story. I didn't want to lose the name I'd been using this whole time, so here it is. Hope you like it.

I don't own YuGiOh!

* * *

Since he opened his thoughts to me, we've spoken very little. He was far too nervous to try to hold a conversation with me directly, and I wasn't quite used to the change yet. Throughout the day, for several days after our last conversation, I observed him with interest. His actions throughout the day, his emotions as he entered new situations, and his thoughts as he contemplated the world around him... and me.

Every time he'd start thinking about me, whether it was wishing we could talk again, wondering what I was doing, or responding to my own internal monologue, he would stop himself quickly and think about the broken trust between us. I was rather quick to stop trying to shield my own thoughts from him. Often, he seemed to react to them automatically, without considering a real response. He very rarely responded to my thoughts directly, showing me how much he really paid attention to them previously.

For any reason I'd approach him verbally previously, I found myself satisfied by listening to his thoughts to find his opinion or answer. He wasn't always paying attention to my mind; I was actually surprised by how often he'd tune my thoughts out. The instant I thought about him, however, his attention would return.

That next weekend, when his friends came over to play games again, I brought myself back out to the physical world to sit in. As Jonouchi shuffled his deck, he spoke to Anzu about the game they were about to play; Duel Monsters. Of all the games they play, it's still my favorite. Anzu had never been very much into the game, but on occasion, she would participate. Tonight, they would play the first round, as she had just gotten some new cards.

_Do you want to play?_

I looked instinctually to my Hikaru, whose eyes were already on me. He had a smile on his face, half of his deck in one hand and the other half in the other as he had been looking through them. It had been a while since I've dueled, even longer since I've dueled anyone other than Yuugi. I don't believe his friends enjoy dueling with me; my presence makes them nervous and they certainly have no hope of ever beating me. During casual duels just between the two of us, even Yuugi struggles to beat me.

_They don't mind._

"I'm alright, Aibou." I passed off, leaning forward on the back of the couch. This was a common position; he sat on the couch next to one of his friends and I would observe either from the back or from a perch on the arm.

_Jonouchi's always up for a challenge. He's still convinced he'll beat you some day, I bet he'd be excited to duel with you._

I gave a smile, pleased by his benign interest. "Perhaps, if you'll ask him first."

His smile widened, and his thoughts dipped through mine. I paused, contemplating what he was thinking. _See how long it takes him to realize it's you. _I rather liked this idea.

Anzu almost beat Jonouchi completely on a fluke. He did a poor job of shuffling his cards in a way that any of the ones he wanted to overcome hers would reach his hand. He did win, however, and Anzu looked rather pleased with herself.

"Alright, my turn." Yuugi insisted, sitting forward and shuffling his cards. _Come on, Yami._

I moved around to the front of the couch, watching as Jonouchi moved to put his deck back together, shuffling it more thoroughly this time. "Are you certain?" I always feel bad about taking over his body, despite how much I do enjoy it. The sensations of being alive are rather addicting, after all.

_Entirely._

I swiftly and smoothly switched places with him. It was so smooth, in fact, that I picked up shuffling right where he left off, without so much as a hesitation. I got no looks or comments from the others.

"Alright, why don't you go first, Yuugi?" Jonouchi spoke to me, looking up to me as he continued to shuffle.

"That's alright." I shook my head, not particularly wanting to start the duel. He shrugged and accepted this.

We were four rounds in already before they noticed. This was much farther than I was expecting, in all honesty. The differences between us were so blaringly obvious to me, and yet apparently in the midst of a duel, we were similar enough that none of them caught on very quickly.

"I don't think I can last much longer." Jonouchi was practically sweating. "You're not usually attacking me so aggressively."

"No he doesn't." Honda agreed, getting a good look at the field. "Actually, now I could be completely wrong, but," he looked to me now and squinted, leaning in, "Pharaoh?"

Yuugi was beaming, bursting out laughing. "Took them long enough! You know, I bet if you really tried, you could have gone the whole duel without them noticing!"

I nodded, shooting him a pleased look. "We wanted to see how long it took for you to notice."

"Now that's just cruel." Jonouchi groaned. "If I knew it was you, I wouldn't have pulled any stops!" Certainly, he's gotten better since I started actually paying attention to him, but Jonouchi still didn't stand a chance. He was a better than average dualist, but his words now were clearly a bluff.

"I expected you would have caught on last turn." I mused, setting out my card and attacking his side of the field with a quick point. "Yuugi has never used that maneuver."

"But you have, and it's hard to keep track all the time." Anzu pointed out. "Actually, Jonouchi, I think you're done for now."

"No way, I've still got one monster left." He pointed, taking away the one I'd attacked. My turn was over, so he was quick to put it into defensive mode. "And a little bit of life points. Alright, let's see what I've got." He drew a card and hunched over his hand, taking a longer amount of time to think than normal.

"Hey, Yuugi." Honda sat up and looked around, clearly having no idea where to look. The ghostly figure sitting on the arm of the sofa beside me looked to him nevertheless. "You're still dueling me, right?"

I frowned slightly, before putting my face blank. Honda had a joking tone, but his sentiments were still clear. My presence makes him uncomfortable. Of course, I wasn't here for their benefit; I was here to spend time with my Hikaru.

_Yami wants to stay._

"He will." I spoke for him, not even waiting for an answer. Honda smiled at me. "I only intended to join for this round."

"Oh, alright. Fine." Jonouchi made a last-ditch attempt at throwing me off. I ended my next turn swiftly, obliterating his monster and the trap card he'd just put down. "I think I held up pretty well, right?"

"You lasted longer last time." Anzu scoffed.

Aibou, take back over_._ I looked toward him. He hesitated, but nodded. This time, the transition wasn't quite as smooth. He blinked and jerked an arm out slightly, automatically turning to his right, where Anzu was before remembering that we'd switched places, so now I was on his left.

_Sorry._

"I'm alright." I insisted, not feeling as if it were a lie, at least. "I enjoy watching you play."

I only stayed out with them for two more duels, however. First, he dueled Honda. Then, Honda and Jonouchi dueled, and I grew bored. Without giving a word of departure, I returned to the Millennium Puzzle to wander its corridors and navigate its traps. I feel as if I am a master of this location, by this point in time. And yet, even now, I don't know every path. I am certain they change, so I can always amuse myself here.

Hours must have passed, until I found myself in front of a familiar door. It was a door I didn't enter often, and yet, one I feel as if I enter too often. It moved so easily under my hand, opening up and welcoming me in like Yuugi's might. His always hangs open, however, and this one is always closed. The instant I was inside, without my even touching it, the door swung closed on my heels with a soft noise. Inside, there is no noise at all. There isn't any light, either. It's dark in here, and to this day I'm not entirely certain of the contents.

Nevertheless, I marched forward until a soft surface appeared under my outstretched hand. Roughly at waist level, the bed was plush and covered in expensive-feeling blankets. I sat upon it, closing my eyes and seeing nothing different. Seconds marched on as if they were minutes, thoughts trickled through my brain at the speed of the moon floating through the sky. Initially, in the sensory deprivation of my own soul room, I didn't even notice that the foreign thoughts that touched my own had quieted and become reflective of my own.

I did notice, however, when the emotions that weren't my own became determined and frightened at the same time. I opened my eyes, still seeing nothing different. It took me a moment to focus on his thoughts, as the silence of this room was louder than they were.

_He's here somewhere._

I focused on his emotions, an uncomfortable sensation settling in my stomach. Then, shock and fright shot through my other half, and I stood up quickly. He calmed down, his determination only settling in more.

Aibou, what are you doing? My feet were planted next to the bed. In front of me is the door, though I couldn't see it. Surrounding me were various objects, some of which I knew, others I've never cared to investigate.

_Trying to find you._

He's in the Puzzle. He's wandering the corridors and navigating the traps. Just now, he'd almost lost his soul to one of my traps. But, he's alright. I shook my head. You need to stop. Go back. The Puzzle is too dangerous for you to navigate on your own.

_You do it all the time._

But you are- I suddenly stopped. In the background of my thoughts, flickering as they might while I analyze my strategy for a game, several words came to mind. Weak. Light. Ignorant. Helpless. Fragile. None of these words settled into the end of my sentence, because I couldn't with good conscience speak to him directly like that. But, he's heard my sentiments all along.

_I know. But I'm being careful._ He heard those words anyway. Damn. _I want to see you._

I went to the door slowly, putting a hand to it but not opening it. I don't want him here. I've already lost most hope in trying to have him think better of me than I am. Surely, by now, he realizes what sort of horrible person I already am. Likely, he's already aware of what lies in my soul room. I hate it, and I certainly don't want to expose him to it.

_I'm not afraid of you._

Shock hit him again, but this time he wasn't as frightened. He escaped another trap. He shouldn't be doing this.

_I'm almost there. I want to see your room._

And I want him to be in it. But...

There was a knock on the door. I pulled my hand away from it quickly, staring at the door with an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach.

_Can I come in?_

Yes.

The door opened without my touching it. I was blinded temporarily, as is typical of leaving this room. I wasn't going out, though; he was coming in. I watched warily as he looked about my room, taking in the deep darkness and emptiness that represented me. The darkness that held secrets, mystery, and my own true nature from even myself.

"This is what it was like before I completed the Puzzle?" He questioned, still standing in the doorway. He doesn't feel scared, at least. He's nervous – very nervous – but he was mostly curious. _It was such a long time, but that's what he compared this room too._

Not exactly. "There was nothing but the darkness. Nothing inside it, including me, really." I answered, and he was startled slightly. I could see from the light silhouetting him that his head turn toward me.

_I can't see him at all, this shadow doesn't give to the light in the hall, but rather leaks outward and settles around my feet. It isn't normal darkness._

"You should return to your room. I'll show you the way." I insisted, but didn't move forward; he was already denying this in his thoughts.

_No, I want to go in. _"Will you show me around?"

He's nervous. He's never much liked the darkness, as he usually asks me to meet him in his soul room when the power goes out or turns the light on to play games during storms at night.

_I'm okay when I'm not alone. I'm clingy, I know, but he hadn't pushed me away yet…_

"Sure." I resolved, getting a bit of a grin. I reached out to grab his forearm, pulling him inside. Initially, he resisted. I pulled again, a bit harder, and this time his legs moved forward to accommodate.

As soon as he was inside with me, the door swung shut and alarm shot through him. I felt his hand grab at the arm I had out to hold onto him. _I can't see anything; it's pitch black in here!_

I smiled, lifting my chin and taking a certain pride in his intimidation, since he still held no real fear forward me. "You probably already realize, but I haven't explored it all. The bed is in the center." I pulled him deeper into the room. The bed is the only reason I willing enter this room. For me, this room offers an uncomfortable mixture of sentiments. Objectively, I enjoy my soul room. The darkness is comforting: quiet and calm. However, its similarities to those eons in solitude always makes me reluctant to accept the darkness.

_You aren't alone anyone._

I let out a deep breath and brought his arm out to the top of the bed and left go, so he could inspect it. When contact was broken, he began to panic. I put a hand to his back to restore contact, basking in my own pleasure of being able to do so as I normally cannot, and in his comfort when I did.

"It's huge." He mused, walking around it. _And completely away from the walls._

"Here there is a desk." I used my hand on his back to pull him around a different direction. As we walked, he raised one arm up to touch my side, giving himself a bit of stability. Of course, there was nothing on the ground for him to trip over, and I've got the positions of the larger furniture memorized, but I didn't object.

_What use does he have got a desk if he can't see?_

"I cannot see to read books either, and yet there if a bookcase over there." I took his wrist and pointed, so he knew which direction I meant. "There are papers here, and also pencils. I've taken some out to the light to inspect. Most of them are blank."

_Not all?_ "And those that aren't?" _Documents or writings, maybe?_

"Drawings, actually. Most seem to serve similar purposes to the photographs on your walls." Others, I've drawn myself. "I have a deck of cards here. They are identical to the deck I have in your room. This one is identical to your deck." I brought his hand to two different piles of cards on the desk.

The tour of my room continued on, inspecting things I'd barely observed before as his interest pulled us that way. Having him here, intimidated by and yet still enjoying my soul room was deeply satisfying. Eventually, we sat on the bed together, playing a game of 20 questions. He didn't want to leave yet, as I got the impression he'd wanted to come in here for a long time now, and I was perfectly happy to keep him in here as long as I could.

With him sitting there, in front of me and leaning into the head board, I found I wasn't bothered at all to be in here. Perhaps for the first time in my entire memory, I was perfectly content. It is a selfish content, to have him here with me, in the deepest depths of my mind, aware of my own thoughts but still enjoying my presence.

_But I'm selfish too. I want him to want me here, and he does. I want to call this room mine, because it is his. I don't want to leave._

* * *

So, what'd you think? Again, thank you for sticking it out!


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